A new year means another edition of the NHL’s New Year’s Day tradition: The Winter Classic.
The first NHL game of 2020, a Central Division matchup between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, will be the 12th Winter Classic in league history and the first outdoor game for both clubs involved.
As the southernmost venue of an outdoor NHL game, this year’s Winter Classic won’t feature the wintery, snow globe-like scene we’ve seen in years past, but the excitement around the event proves just how popular the game on ice is, even in markets that require a little extra coolant to get things frozen.
Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the southern-most Winter Classic we’ve ever seen:
1: This is the first outdoor game for both the Predators and Stars.
3: Number of times the home team has won the Winter Classic (Bruins, 2010; Capitals, 2015; Blues, 2017).
6: Cotton Bowl Stadium is now the sixth football stadium to host the NHL Winter Classic, and the third college football venue (Michigan Stadium hosted in 2014 and Notre Dame Stadium held the game in 2019).
11: Number Texas-born players, current and former, to suit up for at least one NHL game.
12: Number of years the NHL has held the New Year’s Day game (including 2020), and counting. The first Winter Classic took place in Buffalo in 2008 with the Sabres hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins, and with the exception of 2013 (re-scheduled due to the lockout), the game has been an annual tradition ever since. All 12 Winter Classics have been held in the United States, with Dallas’s game the first to be played in a southern state — and the southernmost NHL regular-season outdoor game.
13: degrees, in Fahrenheit, at puck drop of the 2014 Winter Classic between Toronto and Detroit in Ann Arbour, Mich. That’s about minus-10 Celsius, making it the coldest Winter Classic on record. The title of warmest Winter Classic belongs to Pittsburgh — it was 51.7 degrees Fahrenheit (about 11 C) when they hosted Washington at Heinz Field. Current predictions show similar temperatures set for Dallas.
29: Number of regular-season NHL games that have been played outdoors between the Winter Classic, Heritage Classic, Stadium Series and other special events.
90: Years since Cotton Bowl Stadium first opened its doors in 1930. Over the course of its history, the stadium has been home to the SMU Mustangs, Dallas Texans and Dallas Cowboys, and has hosted several historic bowl games including the Cotton Bowl Classic from 1937 until 2009.
350: Gallons of paint required to make the ice white.
3,000: Gallons of coolant needed to freeze the rink — made with 20,000 gallons of water — and keep it frozen. Crews in Dallas have had their work cut out for them in keeping things cool over the course of the ice-making process, thanks to mild temperatures and plenty of rain.
53,317: Average attendance of outdoor regular-season NHL games. Total attendance over the course of 28 outdoor games? That’s 1,492,877.
65,000: According to the NHL’s chief content officer, Steve Mayer, the stadium was initially being configured to seat 65,000…
85,000: Cotton Bowl Stadium’s actual capacity for the Jan. 1 game, projecting this to be the second-largest Winter Classic in the event’s history. (The Big House in Ann Arbour hosted about 105,000 fans, making it the most-attended Winter Classic.)
Hockey is clearly alive and thriving in Texas. The puck drops at 2 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.
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